Alan Wizemann
Social Commerce Thought Leader, Internet Technologist, Innovator and Entrepreneur

When traveling to a beach town, having paid an additional fee for a beach view, the last thing you want is a typhoon class storm blowing horizontal rain and 50º winds. Welcome to our first day in San Sebastian. Although the view was still impressive, looking out on the crescent shaped beach encircled with old walls that used to protect the city pointing to the large religious statue on the highest hill (assuming Saint Sebastian) it would be better in the sun. So, in the WIzemann way we found a bar.

The first bar we hit was inside the Hotel Loundres, the hotel we were staying in. A few glasses of Cava should kick the evening in just fine and aside from the 3 or so noisy children exuding their pent up energy usually reserved for beach play it was enjoyable. Although the beach is the main attraction here, we actually came for a different reason. The food.

To be a bit more definitive Pintxos (pronounced “Pinchos”). These are also known in some parts of the world as Tapas, but they are much more of a speciality in this part of the country. The first bar that looked welcoming had an array of Pintxos on the bar. Continuing the Cava sampling we also ordered 6 or so tasty selections. Not a single one was even mediocre – they were all amazing. Almost as if they were concentrated from a larger dish into a bite sized serving. This pattern went on for several bars, sampling the food and drink at each.

There were several standout dishes, ones I later learned were unique to the Basque country we were in. A few of these were Croquettes, Octopus (a dish my wife sampled at every stop), and a chorizo like sausage. Many things were similar between bars, usually a serving of cheese, ham (jambon) on bread with something else to make it special.

Throughout the travels in the night the streets became full with people, musicians and trinket sellers. The bars became busier and the food flew out of the kitchen and off of the bars at an amazing clip. Never more than 3 Euros, each Pintxos was delectable. One bar in particular took the small bite challenge to top chef limits with combinations like Foie Gras inside mango, resembling an egg yolk on a japanese soup spoon. My favorite was actually a chorizo sausage wrapped in a flakey pastry, loosely resembling a pig in a blanket from my youth.

Ending the evening, we headed back to the hotel after stopping to listen to a talented, young classical guitar player who subsequently helped alleviate us of some small Euro coins. Once back at the hotel we turned in for the night hoping for the sun the next day. We were let down by 8am.

If I were to describe the weather upon leaving the hotel in the morning, just to walk across the street to what looked like a decent quick breakfast place, it would be tropical depression. It was cold, but only because of the wind. It was raining, but not from above as the rain seemed to come from the sides and below. We made it to Chez Croissant in record time to sit down and have a very good cup of coffee and freshly made croissants. There, we came up with our plan for the days domination. If the beach is out, shopping is in.

We made our way to several stores that shared covered access or were within streets blocking the weather. After buying a few umbrellas (something we have way to many of back in Portland) we made our way through life as a resident. Browsing through a meticulously clean super market, to a local clothing store. Although the day was not without peril from the weather, we did find some amazing bargains and keepsakes. My favorite was 2 linen suits, from Barcelona, from the brand and store than made them for an unusually inexpensive price. Both Sarah and I thought they didn’t charge us correctly, or we did something wrong to get them. We then hit a few other stores to find some more small things that we didn’t pack to round out our travel wardrobe.

Then, it happened. The sun broke through the clouds and the wind seemed to stop as fast as it was blowing. We both looked at each other and knew, this was it. Time was limited. We ran back to the hotel, dropped everything off and quickly through on a bathing suit and grabbed towels from the hotel desk. Probably looking like crazed animals on a hunt, we made our way to the beach running and laughing until we found a spot, threw a towel down and went in for a swim. The water was cold, not as cold as the coast in Portland but cold enough to send a shiver through your core. It didn’t matter, the sun was out and we were going to enjoy it for as long as we could. That was about 30 minutes.

The sun started to fade, the weather started to turn so we thought it best to go back, rummage through the days finds and get ready for a good dinner. It was time for more Pintxos. And Cava.